Various signboard constructions are shown in the prior art, one such construction being shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,722,120 granted Mar. 27, 1973 to Henry Finkel. This Patent discloses a signboard construction having a four member frame formed of four aluminum extrusions having identical cross-sections, and a plurality of signboard members received within the frame members. Each of the signboard members of Finkel is formed of an aluminum extrusion having a lower portion of complex cross-section interconnected to the lower edge of a principal vertically extending portion, the lower portion including a pair of mounting ribs, the extrusion also including an upper V-shaped portion interconnected to the upper edge of the vertically extending portion, the ends of the V-shaped portion being received within a channel formed by the lower portion. While the construction of Finkel is generally satisfactory, each of the signboard members is unduly complex, and furthermore the Finkel construction requires a separate signboard member for each of the incremental widths of the indicia which are adapted to be carried thereby. Finkel also requires a special adapter for mounting the indicia on his signboard members. The frame members of Finkel are open on one side and this has the disadvantage in that they may collect dirt and water which may make subsequent disassembly of the signboard construction difficult. Also no means are provided for readily mounting his assembled signboard.
Another signboard construction shown in the prior art is U.S. Pat. No. 3,289,340 issued Dec. 6, 1966 to Edwards. This patent discloses a signboard construction wherein each of the extruded signboard members is provided with a plurality of equally spaced apart indicia receiving members. The upper and lower edges of each of the signboard members are provided with special interfitting surfaces which unduly complicate the extrusion. Special adapters are required for mounting indicia on the signboard members. The frame of this patented design is formed of wood and such a frame member construction is undesirable because of the maintenance required to preserve the wood.
Other U.S. Patents which are representative of the prior art are: Nos. 3,230,652, 3,458,945, 3,696,541, 3,685,186, 3,793,757, and 3,651,592. The first three of these Patents disclose a signboard construction wherein a plurality of signboard members are interconnected to each other, the upper and the lower edges of each of the signboard members being provided with a special interfitting construction. Many of these prior art signboard constructions require special appliances for mounting the indicia on the signboard members. Others require special adapters for interconnecting the signboard members to the frames. Furthermore, none of these patents disclose structure whereby the assembled signboard can be readily mounted.